This story is about how my life was drastically changed after a car accident at the age of nineteen. My parents were told I would never walk again, I spent 8 years in a wheelchair but never gave up. With the love of my family I am now walking.

It was commonplace for teenagers to hitchhike in the Sutherland Shire in the 1980s. I was no exception. The Shire was vast, and although serviced by a train line, hitchhiking was cheap. I had no fear of getting into a stranger’s car.